Tag Archives: Google Home

fixed : replacement HUE lamp not working properly in Google Home group

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Question :

I had a Philips HUE lamp that went rogue after 4 years of working without any problems, so I had to replace it with a new one. Installation was easy (as always) : it was immediately recognised by my HUE Bridge and there is no problem when I use it with the HUE.app (I am not using the HUE(Bluetooth).app since I have an HUE Bridge). Even the HUE Remote that controls to the group of lights that the old HUE lamp is in, immediately integrated the replacement HUE lamp.

But when I want to control my HUE lights from my Google Home devices and apps, all lights are still controlled properly, but not the newly replaced HUE lamp… I can’t control it from Google Home… What is wrong ?

Answer :

After connecting the new Philips HUE lamp to the HUE Bridge and the HUE.app, you need to also reconnect it to Google Home manually… Philips HUE doesn’t automatically update in Google Home (or the other way around)… To get things working in Google Home, do this :

  • make sure that the new HUE lamp is working properly with the HUE.app and all HUE Remotes as intended
  • then, make sure the group of lights that the new/repaced HUE lamp is in is turned on (so all lights of the group should be burning)
  • now, open the GoogleHome.app on your iPhone (or iPad)
  • when the “Home” page opens, click on the “Settings” button (the one with the sprocket/gear-icon)
  • in the “Home settings” page that opens, scroll down to the bottom and click on “Works with Google”
  • in the “Add Devices” page that opens, you will see a “Linked” chapter and a “Add new” chapter below ; since you already have your HUE lights set up in Google Home previously, you can click on “Philips HUE” in the “Linked” chapter
  • in the small popup menu that opens, click on “Check for new devices”
  • when the auth.meethue.com online login page opens, login to your Philips HUE account using your eMail address and your password
  • in the “Grant permission” webpage that opens, scroll down to the bottom and click on the blue “Grant permission” button
  • now the “Add Devices” page in the Googlehome.app opens, and at the bottom a message saying “Philips HUE is linked” will show
  • then, the “Choose device” page will automatically open where you see all your HUE lights and devices that are currently not connected to Google Home, so select the HUE lamp’s icon tile that you have replaced and click “Next”
  • in the “Connect Home” page that opens, drag&drop the HUE lamp’s icon tile onto the correct HOME icon tile (usually the HOME location that you have setup in Google Home) [ note that you can only connect the lamp to one home ] then click “Next”
  • in the “Connect Groups” page that opens, drag&drop the HUE lamp’s icon tile onto each and every GROUP icon tile (of lights and devices) you want the HUE lamp to be in, one after the other
  • when done, click “Next” and the GoogleHome.app will update
  • when done, back in the “Home” page, scroll down to the proper group and test what happens when you turn the group of lights off and back on
  • if everything works properly, you’re done
  • if you run into a problem (now or maybe later on), try this :
  • turn on all HUE lights
  • turn off all running GoogleHome.apps on all devices you have and unplug all Google Home speakers, Google Home displays and Nest Hubs
  • after at least 30 seconds, plug all Google Home speakers/displays and Nest Hubs back in and wait for them to restart
  • now, test if the group of HUE lights that includes the replaced HUE lamp works as intended when using one of the restarted Google Home speakers/displays or Nest Hubs (if it works on one Google Home device, it will work on all the one that have been restarted)
  • also test if the group of HUE lights that includes the replaced HUE lamp works as intended when using the GoogleHome.app on your iPhone (or iPad)
  • now, everything should work as intended (in the very unlikely event that it does not, redo all of the above)

that’s it !

enjoy 😉

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solved : Matter-compatible Smart Thermostats that are already for sale

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Question :

I am considering buying new Smart Thermostats for my home, but now I heard that an all New cross-platform standard for home automation called “Matter” will be introduced later this year, I am thinking about postponing my purchases… even though I should start using Smart Thermostats as soon as possible since energy prices ar rocketing…

Now I heard that some of the Smart Thermostats that are already available right now will be upgradable for integration with Matter, but I can’t seem to find any… which ones are sure to work with Matter ?

Answer :

Yes, Matter (formerly known as Project CHIP – Connected Home over IP) will be the new communication standard in home automation. Matter will unify all new home automation by Apple (HomeKit & Siri), Google (Google Home & Nest), Amazon (Alexa), Samsung (SmartThings), Comcast, CSA – Connectivity Standards alliance (formerly known as The Zigbee Alliance), IKEA, Huawei and Schneider. Others like Philips HUE, EVE Home, WiZ and TP-Link (Kasa & Tapo) are working on Matter-certification, and more and more brands will follow.

At the moment of writing (January 2023) only 2 Smart Thermostats that are already available on the market are confirmed to be Matter-compatible / Matter-upgradeable :

We expect to update this list soon when new Matter-compatible Smart Thermostats are confirmed.

fixed : Smart Thermostat is too large for the space I have next to my radiator

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Question :

I want to install Smart Thermostats on all my radiators, but some of our radiators are in a cove where I a regular smart Thermostat won’t fit because it’s too bulky. There just isn’t enough space to screw the Smart Thermostat onto the radiator valve, there’s only 78mm of space.

What options do I have ?

 

Answer :

Most Smart Thermostats are bulky because you need to install 2 AA penlite batteries inside the Smart Thermostat. The TP-Link KE-100 Kasa Smart Thermostat is 88mm in length and even the Tado Smart Thermostat is 80mm in length. So, even if your radiator valve is M30x1.5 the space you have is too small… so, you only have 2 options :

(1) the Fibaro “The Heat Controller” FGT-001 which is only 75mm in length, because it isn’t powered by AA penlite batteries, but by a built-in rechargeable battery that can be charged through a mini-USB cable

Note #1 : the Fibaro FGT-001 comes in 2 versions : an Apple HomeKit-compatible version and a non-HomeKit-compatible Z-Wave version that is compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa

Note #2 : the Fibaro FGT-001 (HomeKit version) is rather easy to install and program, but the Fibaro FGT-001 (Z-Wave version) is slightly more difficult to install end harder to program, and you will also need a Z-Wave Hub (a.k.a. “Z-Wave Controller”) but it’s extremely programmable

(2) use a perpendicular M30x1.5 angle adapter to get your Smart Thermostat pointing in a more convenient direction, like this one :

Oventrop Angle Adapter for M30x1.5 radiator valves

That’s it – you choose 😉

enjoy !

fixed : switch Hue light bulb to different Room in GoogleHome.app

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Question :

I have installed a new Philips Hue light bulb and for some reason it ended up in the wrong Room in the GoogleHome.app

How can I move it to the right Room ?

Answer :

To move a Hue light bulb (of any other light bulb or connected device) to another Room in the GoogleHome.app, do this :

  • open the GoogleHome.app on your iPhone
  • click on Settings (the circular button with a sprocket/gear on it)
  • now the “Home Settings” page opens, click on “Rooms and groups”
  • now the “Rooms and groups” page opens, find the group that the light bulb that you want to move is still in and click on it
  • in the “Room settings” page that opens, click on the name of the light bulb you want to move
  • in the page that opens (called by the name of the specific light bulb), click on “Room”
  • in the “Choose room” page that opens, click on the name of the room you want the light bulb to move to, so it will be highlighted with a the checkmark and a blue color
  • then click “SAVE” (top right)
  • now the light bulb will have moved from the old room to the new Room
    • if it wasn’t moved, repeat the above

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

Note : if you have trouble updating the new settings from the GoogleHome.app to your Google Nest Hub (or any other Google Home controlling device), try this.

fixed : Rooms not updating on Google Nest Hub

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Question :

I have a bunch of Philips Hue light bulbs and one of a group of three had to be replaced. I have installed a new one and connected it to the Philips Hue Bridge using the Hue.app on my iPhone. And that works properly. But it turned out that in the GoogleHome.app the new one was not in the same group as the other two. I figured out how to fix that, so it’s now working properly when using the GoogleHome.app also.

However, when I am trying to control the Hue lights from my Google Nest Hub, the new Hue light bulb is still in a separate room… I looked for an option to sync the settings of the Rooms on the Google Nest Hub and it’s settings, in the GoogleHome.app and in the Hue.app, but there is none… I’ve also looked this problem up online, and the only solution given is to completely reinstall the Hue light bulb (and if that doesn’t work ‘just’ completely reinstalling multiple or even all Hue light bulbs…)

Isn’t there any easier solution ?

Answer :

Yes there is. And it is extremely simple : after you have made sure that the settings are the way you want them to on the GoogleHome.app, just unplug the Google Nest Hub from power, wait about 30 seconds and reconnect the power… now the Google Nest Hub will restart and fetch the updated settings from the cloud… so, everything is synced.

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

Note : if anyone reading this also wants to know how to move a Hue light bulb from one room to another in the GoogleHome.app, read this post.

fixed : Philips HUE lights not responding after upgrading to HUE Bridge

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Question :

Previously we had our Philips HUE lights setup suing Bluetooth, but now we have bought ourselves a Philips HUE Bridge since we want to be able to set some wake-up, sleep and out-of-home routines on our HUE lights. But after installing the HUE Bridge, our Google Nest Hub can no longer connect to our HUE lights.

What is wrong ?

 

Answer :

Since you installed your Philips HUE lights over Bluetooth before you installed your Philips HUE Hub, you have switched from Bluetooth HUE connection to WiFi HUE connection, but your Google Nest Hub doesn’t know about this switch yet…

To fix this, do this :

  • first : to avoid confusion, it’s advisory to delete the HUE lights that you had set up over Bluetooth first from the Google Home.app
  • then, in the Google Home.app, click ‘Settings’
  • in ‘Settings’ screen, scroll down and click on ‘Add…’
  • in ‘Add and manage’ screen, click on ‘Setup device’
  • in ‘Setup’ screen, click on ‘have something already set up?’
  • in ‘Add devices’ screen, select ‘Philips HUE’ (if you don’t see it right away, use the search option top right)
  • you will be redirected to the MeetHUE.com login-page
  • login to your PhilipsHUE-account (you probably don’t have one yet, so either create a new one or sign in using your Google account)
  • follow the on-screen directions to link your HUE Bridge to your account ; press the big button on the HUE Bridge when prompted
  • now your HUE Bridge will be accessible from your Google Nest Hub
  • on the Nest Hub, swipe down from the top of the screen
  • in the pull down window, you will see your HUE lights
  • click on the HUE lights you want to adjust and adjust the lights as you wish

If you want to be able to control the HUE lights in Zones different from the Rooms, use the PhilipsHUE.app to setup new Zones first :

  • open PhilipsHUE.app
  • if the app doesn’t open in the Settings screen automatically, click on Settings (bottom right)
  • in ‘Rooms & Zones’ screen, click on the ‘Create new’ button (top left) 
  • in ‘Create new – Room’ screen click on the ‘Create Zone’ button and follow the onscreen directions
  • now the Zone will be listed in Google Home.app also
  • when the Zone is listed on the ‘Home’ screen in Google Home.app, click on the name of the room
  • in [Room/Zone name] screen, click on the gear/sprocket icon (top right)
  • in ‘Room’ screen, click ‘Choose devices’
  • in ‘Choose devices’ screen, check all HUE lamps you want to include in this Zone (note that Google Home names Zones as Rooms) and click the ‘Next’ button

Now your Philips HUE lights will be accessible from your Google Nest Hub both individually and as Rooms/Zones (Google Home names both as Rooms) :

  • on the Nest Hub, swipe down from the top of the screen
  • in the pull down window, you will see your HUE lights
  • click on the HUE lights you want to adjust and adjust the lights as you wish

Note : you can also select routines for the HUE lights from the Nest Hub if you have set them up in Google Home.app (like daily routines to use when you’re out of home)

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : is there a need for a Philips HUE Bridge when you have a Google Nest Hub ?

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Question :

We have a Google Nest Hub setup in our home and we are going to buy some Philips HUE lamps somewhere in the near future. Do we need the Philips HUE Bridge to control the HUE lamps from the Nest Hub or not ?

 

Answer :

No, not really, you can control your Philips HUE lights directly from your Google Nest Hub on-screen (or using voice assistant).

The added value of using the Philips HUE Bridge over using Bluetooth :

  • connect up to 50 HUE lights (vs. max. 10 using Bluetooth)
  • connect any Zigbee-compatible smart light from any other brand (vs. Philips HUE lights only using Bluetooth)
  • connect to any connected Zigbee-compatible smart light in or around your home (vs.  connecting only to Philips HUE lights within ca. 10m using Bluetooth)
  • control your HUE Bridge and connected smart lights from anywhere in the world (vs. connecting to local Philips HUE lights only
  • option to use Apple HomeKit to control your HUE Bridge and connected smart lights (vs. no Apple HomeKit compatibility using Bluetooth : Google Home or Amazon Alexa only)

Here’s how to set this up without a Philips HUE Bridge :

  • make sure you have setup your Philips HUE lights in Google Home.app
  • swipe down from the top of the screen on your Google Nest Hub
  • in the pull down window, you will see your HUE lights listed
  • click on the HUE lights you want to adjust and adjust the lights as you wish
  • you can even select routines if you have set them up in Google Home.app (like daily routines to use when you’re out of home)

That’s it !

enjoy 😉